How
the lush backdrop for our Fall 2018 campaign has
influenced generations of world-renowned writers, artists
and musicians.

How
the lush backdrop for our Fall 2018 campaign has influenced
generations of world-renowned writers, artists and musicians.

Cofounder of Island Records, Chris
Blackwell discusses GoldenEye’s history as the birthplace of
James Bond and how he came to own the storied property.

Cofounder of Island Records, Chris
Blackwell discusses GoldenEye’s history as the birthplace of James
Bond and how he came to own the storied property.

The
Power of Inspiration

The Yurman vision has always been
about bringing together creative talents. The family, artisans and
designers all create, seeking originality in their work. This
philosophy extends to our partnerships with photographers, creative
directors, models and all those shaping art and culture through a
lens of individuality.

Shot by Peter Lindbergh at the
GoldenEye resort in Oracabessa, Jamaica, the Fall 2018 campaign
celebrates the power of creativity in a place where the tropical
landscape, white sand and turquoise-colored water are intimately
linked with artistic inspiration.

The
Power of Inspiration

The Yurman vision has always been
about bringing together creative talents. The family, artisans and
designers all create, seeking originality in their work. This
philosophy extends to our partnerships with photographers, creative
directors, models and all those shaping art and culture through a
lens of individuality.

Shot by Peter Lindbergh at the
GoldenEye resort in Oracabessa, Jamaica, the Fall 2018 campaign
celebrates the power of creativity in a place where the tropical
landscape, white sand and turquoise-colored water are intimately
linked with artistic inspiration.

Her
Majesty’s Secret Service

Before he dreamed up secret agent
James Bond, writer Ian Fleming served as a naval intelligence
officer for England. In 1943, he attended an Anglo-American military
conference in Kingston, Jamaica. The island nation's serene beauty
enchanted him and he soon bought 15 acres of land—a former donkey
racetrack—in the banana port town of Oracabessa (Spanish for “Golden
Head”). Fleming sketched a simple villa and named the property after
one of his WWII intelligence operations, GoldenEye.

Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Before he dreamed up secret agent
James Bond, writer Ian Fleming served as a naval intelligence
officer for England. In 1943, he attended an Anglo-American military
conference in Kingston, Jamaica. The island nation's serene beauty
enchanted him and he soon bought 15 acres of land—a former donkey
racetrack—in the banana port town of Oracabessa (Spanish for “Golden
Head”). Fleming sketched a simple villa and named the property after
one of his WWII intelligence operations, GoldenEye.

When
we have won this blasted war, I am going to live in Jamaica.
Just live in Jamaica and lap it up, and swim in the sea and
write books.

— I A
N F L E M I N G

When we have won this blasted war,
I am going to live in Jamaica. Just live in Jamaica and lap it
up, and swim in the sea and write books.

— I
A N F L E M I N G

A
Haven for Artists

Sixty feet away from a
crescent-shaped beach, Fleming built a three-bedroom barracks-style
house from stone and concrete. It was a structure so Spartan that it
reminded his friend and neighbor, the playwright and composer Noël
Coward, of a hospital, drolly referring to it as “GoldenEye, nose
and throat clinic.”

But for Fleming, GoldenEye
celebrated the beauty of simplicity with stoically white rooms
that perfectly framed vistas of the sea, trees and a private
sunken garden. Here, he would bathe at sunrise, snorkel by day
and “write the spy story to end all spy stories” as Fleming once
told a naval intelligence colleague.

A
Haven for Artists

Sixty feet away from a
crescent-shaped beach, Fleming built a three-bedroom barracks-style
house from stone and concrete. It was a structure so Spartan that it
reminded his friend and neighbor, the playwright and composer Noël
Coward, of a hospital, drolly referring to it as “GoldenEye, nose
and throat clinic.”

But for Fleming,
GoldenEye celebrated the beauty of simplicity with stoically white
rooms that perfectly framed vistas of the sea, trees and a private
sunken garden. Here, he would bathe at sunrise, snorkel by day and
“write the spy story to end all spy stories” as Fleming once told a
naval intelligence colleague.

I
wrote every one of the Bond thrillers here… Would these books
have been born if I had not been living in the gorgeous vacuum
of a Jamaican holiday? I doubt it.

— I
A N F L E M I N G

I wrote every one of the Bond thrillers here… Would these books
have been born if I had not been living in the gorgeous vacuum of a
Jamaican holiday? I doubt it.

— I
A N F L E M I N G

Author Ian Fleming on a beach near
GoldenEye, 1964.

Author Ian Fleming on a beach near
GoldenEye, 1964.

Fleming’s first Bond novel was an
instant success and he entertained a coterie of artists, writers,
musicians and Hollywood stars at GoldenEye. In 1956, he met Blanche
Blackwell, who lived next door. They became close friends and her
son Chris became a location scout and soundtrack consultant in 1961
for Dr. No, the first Bond film, upon Fleming’s
recommendation.

Chris was already heavily
involved in the local music scene. Two years earlier at the age
of 22, the jazz fanatic fell in love with the songs of a
Jamaican band playing at his hotel, and, on a whim, asked to
record them. “I just loved the band,” Chris recalls. “It was
purely driven by being a fan.” That first session in the studio
was the genesis of Island Records, Chris’s wildly successful
independent music label that helped introduce Jamaican ska,
rocksteady and reggae to the rest of the world (along with a
slew of iconic musicians from the UK.)

Fleming’s first Bond novel was an
instant success and he entertained a coterie of artists, writers,
musicians and Hollywood stars at GoldenEye. In 1956, he met Blanche
Blackwell, who lived next door. They became close friends and her
son Chris became a location scout and soundtrack consultant in 1961
for Dr. No, the first Bond film, upon Fleming’s
recommendation.

Chris was already heavily
involved in the local music scene. Two years earlier at the age of
22, the jazz fanatic fell in love with the songs of a Jamaican band
playing at his hotel, and, on a whim, asked to record them. “I just
loved the band,” Chris recalls. “It was purely driven by being a
fan.” That first session in the studio was the genesis of Island
Records, Chris’s wildly successful independent music label that
helped introduce Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae to the rest of
the world (along with a slew of iconic musicians from the UK.)

I
loved music so much, I just wanted to get into it, or be as
close to it as I could.

— C H
R I S B L A C K W E L L

I loved music so much, I just wanted to get into it, or be as
close to it as I could.

— C H
R I S B L A C K W E L L

In 1964, Fleming suffered a heart
attack and died at the age of 56. In the years that followed,
Chris’s mother watched over GoldenEye for Fleming’s only son,
Caspar. When Caspar passed away, Chris asked his friend Bob Marley
to purchase the property, so Blanche could continue to swim there.
However, the musician backed out and Chris ended up signing the
contract for GoldenEye. Before turning the patch of land into a
resort, Chris hosted friends such as Steve Jobs, U2 and Sting, who
wrote one of his most enduring hits in one of the villas.

In 1964, Fleming suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 56.
In the years that followed, Chris’s mother watched over GoldenEye for
Fleming’s only son, Caspar. When Caspar passed away, Chris asked his
friend Bob Marley to purchase the property, so Blanche could continue
to swim there. However, the musician backed out and Chris ended up
signing the contract for GoldenEye. Before turning the patch of land
into a resort, Chris hosted friends such as Steve Jobs, U2 and Sting,
who wrote one of his most enduring hits in one of the villas.